India's $200B AI Buildout — Big Tech and Adani Go All In | February 18, 2026

China's non-fossil power capacity — solar, wind, nuclear, and hydro — surpassed fossil fuels for the first time in February 2026, reaching 52% of the total. Some 674GW of non-fossil capacity is under construction, and 234GW of utility-scale solar under development exceeds the rest of the world combined. China alone accounted for $800 billion of the $2.3 trillion invested globally in the energy transition in 2025.

Yet China simultaneously brought 78GW of new coal online in 2025, the most in the past decade. A record 161GW of coal proposals were approved — equivalent to 13% of existing operating capacity. Clean energy met all net increases in power demand, but coal remains in place for baseload and grid stability. China accounts for 71% of coal capacity under development worldwide.

(Source: OilPrice)

India is projected to attract up to $200 billion in data center investment over the coming years. Google committed $15 billion over five years for a southern India AI hub (October 2025), Microsoft pledged $17.5 billion over four years (December 2025), and Amazon committed $35 billion through 2030. The government offers long-term tax incentives for data centers and operates shared computing facilities with over 38,000 GPUs. India is establishing itself as a key technology and talent base in the global race for AI dominance.

(Source: ABC News)

The Adani Group announced a $100 billion AI data center investment over the next decade. AdaniConnex (a joint venture with EdgeConnex) currently operates 2GW of nationwide data center capacity and aims to build the world's largest integrated data center platform at 5GW. Google is a strategic partner, having committed $15 billion over five years for a southern India AI hub in October 2025.

(Source: CNBC)

India Deep Tech Alliance (IDTA) members committed over $2.5 billion over five years, with $1 billion earmarked for AI deployment within three years. Indian AI startup funding reached $1.22 billion across 188 deals in 2025, up 58% YoY. Deep tech's share of Indian VC and PE activity surged from 4% in 2016 to 15%. Applied Materials, Lam Research, and Micron have joined alongside Nvidia as strategic partners, with over $110 million deployed to more than 50 startups since the September 2025 launch.

(Source: Economic Times)

Indian IT major Infosys has partnered with Anthropic to develop enterprise-grade AI agents powered by Claude. Infosys AI services generated INR 25 billion (approximately $275 million, 5.5% of quarterly revenue) in Q3 2025. Rival TCS generates roughly $1.8 billion annually from AI (about 6% of revenue). Anthropic opened its first India office in Bengaluru, and India accounts for 6% of global Claude usage — second only to the US.

(Source: TechCrunch)

Chinese robotics company Unitree plans to ship up to 20,000 humanoid robots in 2026, roughly 3.6 times its 2025 output of approximately 5,500 units. The G1 robot demonstrated autonomous kung fu movements and running at 14 km/h during the CCTV Spring Festival Gala.

(Source: South China Morning Post)

Amazon used AI coding agents to rebuild its Bedrock codebase, cutting costs by approximately $200 million and shaving nearly a year off development time. Amazon has invested over $40 billion in India since 2010 and pledged an additional $35 billion. Its Indian operations support 2.8 million jobs (targeting 3.8 million by 2030), and the Indian government extended data center tax incentives through 2047.

(Source: Economic Times)

In a clinical trial (Cleveland Clinic, 150 participants, published in NEJM Catalyst), 71% of participants using Twin Health's digital twin AI app achieved A1C below 6.5% with fewer medications, compared to just 2% in the control group. GLP-1 medication use in the Twin group dropped from 41% to 6%, while the control group saw usage rise from 52% to 63%. Weight loss was 8.6% for the Twin group versus 4.6% for controls. The company has enrolled tens of thousands through roughly 200 employers, charging based on clinical outcomes.

(Source: Wired)

Kazakhstan will build a fourth refinery with annual capacity of 10 million tons by 2033, part of a plan to expand total refining capacity from 18 million to 30 million tons by 2032 and ultimately 40 million by 2040. Investment of $15–19 billion is expected. The goal is to boost petroleum product output from 14.55 million to 29.2 million tons by 2040, fully replacing imports and becoming a net exporter. Kuwait has been invited as an investment partner.

(Source: OilPrice)

The government projects a record 9.5 billion passenger trips over the 40-day Lunar New Year period, up from 9 billion last year. Consumer vouchers totaling 360 million yuan (approximately $52 million) were issued to boost spending. With households saving nearly a third of their income, the next five-year plan will focus on domestic consumption.

(Source: Al Jazeera)

The five largest South Korean commercial banks (KB Kookmin, NH NongHyup, Shinhan, Woori, Hana) had 3,748 branches at end-2025, down 94 from the prior year. That's 15.3% fewer than the 4,424 in 2020. ATMs fell 20.6% from 37,537 in 2020 to 29,810 by mid-2025, and branch workloads and foot traffic declined over 30% in five years. Despite shrinking physical presence, the five banks posted a combined record net income of KRW 13.99 trillion (approximately $9.67 billion) in 2025.

(Source: Yonhap News)

The Indonesian government unveiled a 12.83 trillion rupiah (approximately $762 million) stimulus package ahead of the Ramadan fasting month. The package includes transportation subsidies and food aid, aimed at maintaining purchasing power amid rising food prices and securing growth momentum in the first quarter.

(Source: South China Morning Post)

BHP's copper business now accounts for more than half of total revenue, with its share rising 30 percentage points over the past three years. Stable operations at Olympic Dam, grade optimization at Escondida, and the OZ Minerals acquisition were key drivers, alongside strong copper prices.

(Source: Seeking Alpha)

Hong Kong Airport's Terminal 2 will fully open on May 27, serving regional routes with 15 airlines. It is part of a HK$141.5 billion (approximately $18.1 billion) airport expansion project launched in 2016, which also includes a third runway.

(Source: South China Morning Post)

A January 2026 Randstad survey found that 26% of respondents received no year-end bonus for 2025, and roughly half received just 1–2 months' salary. Companies are discouraging bonus discussions. Slowing growth and narrowing profit margins are cited as the primary causes.

(Source: South China Morning Post)

The ONS reported the October–December 2025 unemployment rate at 5.2%, up from 5.1% the prior quarter and the highest in nearly five years. Youth unemployment (ages 16–24) reached 16.1%, its highest in over a decade. Average wage growth was 4.2% and real wage growth just 0.8%, though public sector wages rose 7.2%. The Bank of England held rates at 3.75% with UK inflation running at 3.4%.

(Source: BBC)

Spain's transported natural gas demand reached 372TWh in 2025, up 7.4% from 346TWh the prior year. Following the April 2025 Spain-Portugal blackout — an overvoltage event ranked among modern Europe's worst — gas-fired power generation demand surged 33.4%. Gas is being used primarily for grid stabilization.

(Source: OilPrice)

The EU's Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change estimated that approximately 24,000 people died prematurely due to extreme summer heat across Europe in 2025. Annual costs from weather and climate extremes now reach EUR 45 billion ($53 billion), five times the 1980s level. Europe is the world's fastest-warming continent, and adaptation efforts are assessed as insufficient.

(Source: OilPrice)

Greater Jakarta (Jabodetabek, population 42 million) produces up to 14,000 tons of waste per day. All eight landfills serving the metropolitan area are at or near capacity, placing growing strain on the waste management system.

(Source: South China Morning Post)

Kenya launched a national carbon registry for tracking, verifying, and preventing double-counting of carbon credits. Over 80 carbon project proposals have been submitted. Germany is contributing an additional EUR 2.4 million through GIZ to support carbon market readiness. Kenya aims to position itself as a global hub for high-quality carbon credits at a time of increasing scrutiny over climate offset markets.

(Source: ABC News)

Russian and Ukrainian delegations met in Geneva for a third round of US-mediated talks (Witkoff, Kushner). Ukraine was represented by Umerov and Budanov. On the day of negotiations, Russia launched approximately 400 drones and 30 missiles across 12 Ukrainian regions, killing at least three people. Russia occupies roughly 20% of Ukrainian territory. The Kremlin said no new developments were expected from the talks.

(Source: BBC)

The second round of US-Iran nuclear negotiations began in Geneva. Iran fired live missiles toward the Strait of Hormuz, and Supreme Leader Khamenei threatened to sink US warships deployed to the Persian Gulf, while also announcing naval military exercises. Twenty percent of the world's oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

(Source: South China Morning Post)

The EU established SAFE (Security Action for Europe) to provide up to $178 billion in defense production and procurement under a "European first" condition. A separate $107 billion debt-financed Ukraine package is restricted to European-made weapons. In December, the EU bypassed unanimity requirements when approving the Russian asset freeze and Ukraine package (with Hungary, Slovakia, and Czechia facing opt-out pressure) — the first time in EU history that member state defense spending has been financed through EU-wide debt.

(Source: The Atlantic)

European capitals are discussing a European nuclear deterrent for the first time, seeking to reduce core dependence on the US nuclear umbrella. Germany and Sweden are in talks with France and the UK, with Poland and the Netherlands also expressing interest. Germany plans $77 billion in defense spending over five years, of which only 8% goes to US-made weapons. Germany is developing its own satellite communications network to replace Starlink. Rheinmetall is on track to exceed the entire US defense industry's shell production capacity, and European defense stocks have outperformed the US Magnificent Seven. EU approval ratings have reached an all-time high of 74%.

(Source: The Atlantic)

China and India are in a diplomatic standoff over road construction in the Shaksgam Valley (approximately 5,000 km², Trans-Karakoram Tract). India issued a protest statement in January calling it "Indian territory," while China countered that construction on its own soil is "entirely legitimate." The barren area has long been a footnote in the Sino-Indian border dispute, but has resurfaced the complexity of territorial issues between the two nations.

(Source: South China Morning Post)

Satellite analysts say China has constructed more than 600 villages near the Indian border since 2016, at least 10 of which are in disputed territory. India's Vibrant Villages Programme (launched 2022, targeting over 600 villages along 2,100 miles of Chinese border) has made slow progress. The village of Gnathang has received only one solar lamp since the program's launch, and its population has fallen from over 1,500 to 750. China systematically builds roads, power infrastructure, and settlements, while India's construction window is limited to April through October.

(Source: NPR)

Bangladesh's new Prime Minister Tarique Rahman was sworn in following his party's landslide election victory last week. The BNP and allied parties secured 212 of 350 seats, with the Jamaat-e-Islami coalition taking 77 seats as the opposition. This was the first election since Sheikh Hasina's ouster in the 2024 uprising, and the first male prime minister in 35 years. The ousted Awami League was barred from participating.

(Source: ABC News)

Jordan reinstated mandatory military service ("Flag Service") in early February 2026, ending a 35-year hiatus. The stated purpose is "developing combat capabilities in line with modern warfare methods," but the move comes against the backdrop of Israel's West Bank annexation measures and fears of forced Palestinian displacement into Jordan.

(Source: Al Jazeera)

A UN global report shows cocaine production has reached record levels after a decade of rapid growth. Colombia's coca cultivation area more than tripled from its 2013 low of 48,000 hectares by 2022. US cocaine-related overdose deaths reached approximately 30,000 in 2023 (28% of all overdose deaths). Economists estimate that the post-2015 Colombian cocaine surge accounts for roughly 1,500 additional American deaths per year.

(Source: NPR)